A Dublin Student Doctor: An Irish Country Novel (Irish Country Books, 6) Mass Market Paperback – February 3, 2015

Quick delivery and nice product

I've come to admire Patrick Taylor's Dr. Fingal O'Reilly in his later years as a gruff but soft-hearted county Doctor in Northern Ireland. How refreshing to get this chance to look back into his past, to the early 1930s when, against the wishes of his academic father, he paid his way through Dublin's Trinity Medical School after serving in the Royal Navy. The book captures O'Reilly's years of clinical instruction so well and underscores how primitive medicine at the time was. Fingal and his fellow students faced diseases like tuberculosis, cancer, cirrhosis and heart failure with the most basic of treatments that often failed due to limited understanding of the disease pathophysiology and the even more limited availability of successful treatments, including the most basic of antibiotics that we sadly overuse today! Complicating the situation is the condition of the city in which they practice. Still reeling from the Irish Revolution, Dublin ismade up largely of impoverished neighborhoods where disease runs rampant because of the poor sanitation and the inability of its tenants to improve their lot in life. The courses are grueling and aimed at hardening the students against the disease and death they will certainly encounter, but Fingal finds a way to distance himself while still caring for his patients, a lesson that becomes startlingly important when tragedy strikes his own family. Through it all, he finds time to play rugby and court a beautiful young nurse, but Fingal must ultimately choose what is most important to him and sacrifice other things in life to make his dream a reality.Each of Taylor's Irish Country books has touched my heart and this is no exception. I really enjoyed seeing Fingal as a young man and learning about the experiences that shaped him into the man we know now. I was delighted to realize how similar he was as a young doctor to Barry, his assistant in Ballybucklebo. I also liked learning about O'Reilly's early courtship of Kitty O'Hallorhan, for it gives real body to their current relationship and makes the reader realize how rich a history they share. Some reviewers have commented on the "excess" of medical terminology, but a book about a medical student without these passages would certainly be an incomplete portrait. Too, Taylor does a very good job of explaining the medical terms he uses with layman's language, making even the most obscure words clear. I value the book most for making me grateful for the advances in medicine that have been made since Fingal's days in school. How awful it must have been to feel unable to treat even the simplest infections - to watch patients die when you knew what was ailing them but just couldn't do anything about it. How blessed we are to live in an age of antibiotics, MRIs, robotic surgery and so much more. I was also touched by Fingal's interactions with his patients and the respect and care that he showed them. That is what makes medicine so rewarding and it makes me, as a pathologist, regret just a tiny little bit that I don't have the chance to have that same interaction with people daily. Though my work is rewarding, the life of a country doctor, with its close ties to patients and their families, is certainly made to look even more so by this book. All in all, I can't say enough in praise of the book and I highly recommend it, especially to those in the medical profession or those considering a career in healthcare! It will certainly bolster your resolve!

It is difficult to find an author who writes a series about small towns. Love getting to know all the characters.

I was a bit sceptical about purchasing this book. I wasn't thrilled with "An Irish Cuontry Girl" so I wasn't sure how I'd like another prequel. I loved this one. Fingal O'Reilly comes across as a dedicated doctor from the first time he steps onto the wards. It shows how he met and became involved with Kitty O"Halleron. In order to make the transition, the book begins with one of Fingal's patients having a motorbike accident and being taken to the hospital. Fingel and Kitty accompany the patient. During the night of waiting for results for his patient, and the surgery outcome, Fingal relives various moments in his early medical student days in Dublin. The transitions are seamless and effortlessly moves from past to present. The shining moment is when Fingal who has argued with his father about becoming a doctor makes peace with his father. His father is a no nonsense type of man who demands to be called Father. He wanted Fingal to become a scientist as he was, but Fingal said he had to become a doctor. In order to finance his way to medical school, he enlisted in the Royal Nacy. His father is a Father with a capital "F". When his father becomes ill, the father admits that he is proud of Fingal for sticking to his guns so to speak and becoming a doctor. What I also found fascinating was the old time medical techniques that were common in the 1930's.This is a book worth owning so it can be reread again and again.

This just might be the best book thus far in an outstanding series. I enjoyed getting to know the young Fingal and learning what makes him tick and why. I also liked getting a portrait of his family and his early days wooing Kitty O'Halloran. Taylor's writing captures both the grit and charm of Dublin."A Dublin Student Doctor" worked much better than the glimpse into Kinky's past in the book "An Irish Country Girl". The writing and the way the flashbacks were incorporated just flowed so much more smoothly.One thing I'm curious about is why Fingal and Kitty drift apart a second time. The reader knows this happens eventually because Fingal was once married to Deidre, who dies during WWII in a bombing raid. I hope there is another book dealing with Fingal's past and we find out an answer to this question.Didn't miss Barry and his whining at all. I hope when Patrick Taylor returns to Ballybucklebo, Barry has recovered from his heartbreak and isn't moping around any more.

Yet another great read from Patrick Taylor who fills us in on Fingal O'Reilley's early years of training to become a doctor in Dublin and the pressure of the examination system. Lots of laughs.

interesting funny book

... von Patrick Taylor, die (wie auch die anderen Bücher der Reihe) lückenlos an das vorherige Buch anschließt, hat Donal Donelly auf der Heimfahrt von einem Pferderennen einen Motorradunfall und wird von Dr. O'Reilly, der sich ebenfalls auf dem Heimweg nach Ballybucklebo befindet, in das Trinity College and Sir Patrick Dun's Hospital eingeliefert, wo man versucht, eine Blutung am Gehirn des Patienten zu stoppen..Während O'Reilly sich im Hospital (zusammen mit dem zuständigen Fachpersonal) um den verletzten Freund kümmert, erinnert er sich an seine praktische Ausbildung zum Arzt, bei der er vier Jahre lang unterschiedliche Stationen an dem o.g. Hospital durchlaufen hat. Er erinnert sich an den anfänglichen Widerstand seines Vaters gegen den Arztberuf, der seinen (zweiten) Sohn lieber als einen Professor der Naturwissenschaften gesehen hätte, er erinnert sich an gute und schlechte Erlebnisse (vor allem mit drei seiner besten Kommilitonen) während des Studiums, er erinnert sich daran, wie er (ebenfalls an diesem Krankenhaus) Caitlin (Kitty) O'Hallorhan kennen und lieben gelernt hat und er erinnert sich an die schwere Erkrankung und den Tod seines Vaters.Wie die vorherigen Bücher ist auch der Band "A Dublin Student Doctor..." sehr interessant geschrieben, aber für mein Empfinden verliert sich der Autor in dieser Fortsetzung all zu sehr in die ausführlichen Schilderungen medizinischer Details, die - zumindest - meinen Genuss an diesem Buch etwas geschmälert haben. Trotzdem, so glaube ich, sollte man der Vollständigkeit halber, auch dieses Buch lesen, wenn man wie ich, Fan dieser Landarztserie ist und ihrer Zusammenhänge gerne verstehen und bis zum Ende lesen möchte!

The storyline and characters are wondefull. Incredibly talented writer.😊

A Dublin Student Doctor lives up to the writings of Patrick Taylor at his best.This time we are reading about Dr. Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly in his early days as a medical school student back in the 1930s.The novel starts off with Fingal just finishing high school at the age of 18 years old and his father wanting to know what career he intends to pursue. When told he wants to pursue medicine, the old man puts up such a ruckus that young Fingal realizes there's no way he'll be able to go to medical school without his father's financial support, which he has refused to do.So, on the advice of his older brother Lars, and his mother's support, he goes to sea for four years to raise money for medical school.Then he is accepted into Trinity University and proceeds to excel in the studies. It is there we meet Ronald Hercules Fitzpatrick (whom we met in An Irish Country Christmas, the third in the Irish Country series), as well as Charlie Cromie (who we met in An Irish Country Village, the second in the Irish Country series) and his sweetheart at the time: Caitlan O'Halloran (Kitty) as a student nurse (who we first meet in the same novel as Charlie Cromie).In this novel we discover how the relationship between young Fingal and his father was formal and how he got his name (after the famous poet Oscar Wilde). And how his mother wanted to be a doctor herself. His passion for rugby and his dabble into boxing while at sea.It's a pretty good novel and the 491 pages go by very quickly. It's a pity though that we do not get to learn about his naval escapades. As Patrick Taylor said at the beginning that it would have been too lengthy and so it'll keep for a future novel.I do look forward to learning why when he had such a yearning for Kitty how he got involved with Deidre who he later married and lost her life in a naval ship that got torpedoed by the Germans during WWII. I also liked to know why he remained a widower since then when Kitty was obviously available since she never married.But all that will keep as they say. I strongly recommend this novel for its witticism, its humour, and for those who are fascinated to know the early days of Dr. Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly in medical school.